Kana to Buy Silknet

Kana Communications Inc., a maker of software used to manage e-mail for companies doing business online, agreed to buy Silknet Software Inc. for about $4.2 billion in stock. With the deal, Redwood City, Calif.-Kana will to add programs that let customers track orders on the Net. Manchester, N.H.-based Silknet is 18% owned by venture capital company CMGI Inc. Under the deal, Kana would swap 0.83 share, or $214.87, for each Silknet share. In Nasdaq trading on Monday, Silknet climbed $44.81, or 32%, to close at $183.31 in heavy trading, and Kana fell $18.38, or 7%, to close at $240.50. Kana’s customers, including EBay Inc. and ETrade Group Inc., use its software to manage large volumes of e-mail to and from customers. Web retailers can then send consumers offers aimed at products they seek.